Many moons ago, my sister got married in Jamaica. This trip was full of a lot of firsts for me – maid of honor, international travel, all-inclusive resort (did you know that when you choose liquor for your “mini bar”, it comes in 750 mL bottles?!), and the first time I ever enjoyed cooked greens.
This is the type of amaranth that came with my home. It’s a common “weed” here in Michigan, and also the main ingredient in callaloo, a vegetarian Caribbean dish with as many variations as there are stars in the sky. Each year, I allow a handful of plants to flower and set seed. I have tried saving the seeds, spreading them around the yard, and planting some–though this has not worked as well as forgetting about it and letting the dogs trample them as they see fit.
There are many types of amaranth, some are stunning edible ornamentals. As a bonus, the seeds are an edible grain as well. If you are interested in intentionally growing amaranth from seed, this article from the Spruce is a good place to start.
To this day, I still cannot find a recipe that mimics what I ate, so to the best of my recreation:
The ingredients: amaranth, stem removed and leaves chopped. You’ll need roughly 16 oz fresh, much more than the four leaves shown for leaf size variation. Substitute the dark, leafy green of your choice as needed. If you have less, scale back the other ingredients accordingly. I had roughly 9 oz of amaranth and ended up using only one carrot, one celery stalk, half of each bell pepper and the onion. I’m currently out of fresh garlic for the year until August when the current crop is ready to be harvested, otherwise I would have used 3-4 cloves.
Don’t forget to save those ends for stock! I keep a gallon zip top bag in the freezer (the same one for years). Once it is full, I dump it in a big pot, cover with water, maybe throw in a bay leaf or two if I have them and let it simmer all day long. In the summer, I use the slow cooker instead of the stove and set it in the mud room to keep the house cool(er). I keep a separate bag for chicken bones + scraps, and quart sized bags for various other meats.
I used a 12″ cast iron skillet based on the quantity I was cooking. Carrots, celery, and peppers are cooked first in a tablespoon of unsalted butter.
Once they have softened (15-20 minutes or so), add onions, and fresh garlic if using, with another dab of butter.
After 5 minutes, turn up the heat so you can get some nice toasty bits. Cook another 10 minutes, stirring periodically.
Finally, add the chopped greens and freshly ground coriander seed (+ garlic powder if using), stirring very often until wilted, approximately 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
My favorite way to enjoy this is as a breakfast side or topped with an over medium or soft-boiled egg (see my previous post for my favorite cooking method). When I made this batch, we enjoyed it for brunch with croque madames to use up some leftover béchamel.
This morning, I foraged and harvested 9 oz of braising greens including amaranth, chinese cabbage, swiss chard, red russian and blue curled vates kale. I wanted to try making something new and settled on a green shakshuka. I combined a few different recipes with what I had on hand at home (romesco + chili-garlic paste for harissa, for example). It turned out delicious!
Beyond learning to enjoy cooked leafy greens, that trip to Jamaica taught me I’m not much for resorts, that I’d rather be down and dirty with the locals which is how I have traveled since. If you have a favorite food from traveling, I’d love to hear about it and possibly try to recreate it!
Eat - Drink - Both 